Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween

Halloween is an interesting holiday to me. When I was a young and the day was all about dressing up in cute little clown costumes while running around the neighborhood getting candy...then it was fun. However, once I got older and the "fun" of Halloween became haunted houses and spook alleys...I started hating the fact that this day came every year. I am not one that likes to get scared. I don't mind scary movies, in fact as long as I'm not watching them alone I enjoy a good spooker. It is another matter entirely when I am in the spooker. So, unlike the majority of people my age I do not pay money to go get the crud scared out of me for Halloween. I enjoy staying home and passing out treats to all the cute kids who are still young enough to enjoy the good part of Halloween.

This year my cute sister came over and spent Halloween with me. We got glow sticks and turned off all the lights while we watched some Goosbumps movies. They weren't scary for me, but Tara was pretty spooked. There was one about a giant snake that we had to turn off because it was too scary for her. It was fun having someone to celebrate with this year though.

There is one thing about Halloween that is a must for me every year. When I was a kid the thing I remember most was that we always passed out the same treat every year; pumpkin face taffy. My mom would take me out trick-or-treating and since no one was home to pass out treats we left a bucket of them on the front porch. I always loved when we would come home and still have some treats in the bucket on the porch, because that meant I got them. They have always been my favorite Halloween treat and even now it just doesn't seem like Halloween without them. You could take away everything about this holiday; the costumes, the trick-or-treaters, the spook alleys, the decorations, and as long as I still had my pumpkin face taffy it would feel like Halloween no matter what.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Bored?

What do you do when you're bored?

I have been sick for almost two months now and am bored out of my mind. At first I was kind of excited for a break and an excuse to lie around and do nothing for a while. After a little while I felt like I had actually accomplished a lot during my streak of laziness. I watched hulu for hours and got all caught up on TV shows I've missed. Another big priority was staring at Facebook for days on end getting caught up on the drama in the lives of all my friends and family. While doing this I had the awesome idea that if I took all the Facebook status's posted over a week's time, changed names to protect the innocent, and inter-weaved a bit of my own creativity I could write my own soap opera! I spent about a day contemplating that and then decided my time on Facebook would better be spent building fish tanks. I chose to get my drama but catching up on the blogs of those I know...and those whose blogs I randomly stalk...here the stories are much more detailed and interesting than one liners on Facebook.

I have spent time off the computer as well. During my good moments I clean the house...I try to keep those as rare as possible. I have spent as much time possible engrossed in the alternate reality of a good book. Once in a while I have a friend come over and keep me a bit of company. Now, I know you are wondering how I could possibly be bored with all of this going on...but alas, I am. I have resigned myself to putting photos of my friends into silly e-cards and sending them to the aforementioned friends. I'm sure the only result from this is that no one is ever going to let me take their picture again!

So, I'm wondering what do you do when you're bored? Any ideas I have yet to try?

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Books, Books, Books

Reading is seriously one of my all time favorite pastimes. I have loved books since the day I learned to read…which was in about kindergarten. I used to read all kinds of Hooked on Phonics books when I was little. In elementary school library day was always my favorite day of the week. For some reason I loved the book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I used to read it every time we went in for library day. It got to a point where Mrs. Sims, the librarian, would have it sitting there ready for me when my class came to the library. Another one of my favorite times was when the book fair came to town. They would set up these huge files of books in the lobby area outside the school office and sell them for a week or so. I loved browsing through and coming home with a bunch of new books every time.

When you read you get a chance to escape reality and visit places only your imagination can take you. I love to read fictional stories for young readers. I recently finished the Fablehaven series, and I loved the Harry Potter books. Stories like that allow your imagination to open up and really take in the fact that anything is possible.

I love being able to come home at the end of a long day to find a good book waiting for me. There is nothing more relaxing than curling up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. This one may sound funny, but I also love to read while soaking in a tub of warm water…so relaxing!

Every time I read a book that I really love it makes me wish I could write the way these authors do. I would love to write a bestseller some day. Not because I want to be rich and famous, although I wouldn’t mind the rich part, but because I would love to be able to share a story that would touch a reader the way others stories have touched mine. Creative writing is another way of truly opening up the imagination and just letting everything flow. I love that feeling. Life can be so restricting especially the older you get and the more responsible you’re supposed to be. Letting your imagination freely flow takes down all those restrictive barriers and helps you feel like a kid again.

I also love how reading can teach you things. I enjoy reading books with a motivational message to them such as The Hiding Place, Tuesdays with Morrie, or The Peacegiver. They are books that entertain and inspire…the best combination on the planet.

The only bad thing about reading is that sometimes I simply can’t find the time to do it. I get so caught up in the day to day things and other forms of media and entertainment that I let the precious quiet time of reading slip away from me. I need to be better at this. I need to make time for reading instead of waiting for it to find me. There are millions of good books out there, but unless I make time to read one I’m never going to get time to read them all! This is why I am taking advantage of this time being sick and reading as much as I can. Every now and then the Lortab in my system makes the words start spiraling off the page and I have to take a break and watch TV or sleep, but I am getting in some good reading.

So...tell me what are some of your favorite books? What is on your nightstand right now? What book should I read next?